So you'll never guess who I met in the woods today
by nativeNYer21
Summary: It all started with that stupid 'swish' noise.... Why is Sokka always the one to embarass himself? If only he could have a nice, leisurely stroll through the forest in the AM without being bombarded by crazy girls in pink tights...
1. The Chance Encounter

This story was inspired by a pic on the Avatar Oekaki... the link isn't working here so check my profile for it!

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Sokka, proud and brave warrior of the Southern Water Tribe, was meandering through the forest one morning, in search of some breakfast. He swished his knife back and forth gleefully, cutting a trail as he went along.

_Swish__…_

He had been dispatched by his sister Katara to find some food to take along for the road, as they would be traveling to a new campsite the next day. His food of choice would have been, preferably, some kind of delicious meat, but all he could come up with was a branch or two full or just-barely-ripe berries.

_Swish__…_

_Wait…_

Suddenly, Sokka's acute, perfectly 100-percent-accurate warrior senses were tingling. That was not _his_ swish. That was a different swish.

_Swish__…_

Sokka's eyebrow twitched. He did not like unfamiliar noises. He did not like unfamiliar anything. He stuck his knife out in defense and did his shifty eyes, scanning for anything suspicious.

_Swish__…_

Sokka had now moved on from the shifty-eye state of alarm and looked left and right. He couldn't detect any movement.

_Swish__…_

_Rustle__…_

By now Sokka had graduated to full-on warrior stealth more. He stepped cautiously over twigs and branches, carefully avoiding—

**SNAP!**

_Oops_.

_Swish__…_

_Seriously, what is that "swish" noise that keeps happening?_

Sokka looked around anxiously. He couldn't see anything moving. There was no wind at all. If it weren't for that stupid "swish" noise, he would think he was alone in the forest.

_Wait a minute._

Sokka's razor-sharp warrior vision zoomed in on a small, seemingly insignificant leaf that fluttered to the ground. Just above it was a low-lying branch that was covered completely with leaves.

_Ah_, Sokka thought, the genius detective in him picking up on the tiniest detail, _that leaf didn't move by itself. No. Leaves, so far as I know, don't move by themselves. Something, or someone, must have disturbed that branch and caused the leaf to fall…_

He inched closer to the branch, moving ever so slowly in order to keep the element of surprise…

"_**BOO!**_"

Ironically enough, the surprise was on him. An upside-down head popped out from the underside of the branch, right in front of Sokka's face.

"AAAGH!"

Sokka staggered backward and tripped over a branch, just as a figure clad almost entirely in pink leapt from the tree, somersaulted in the air and landed gracefully on the ground.

"Hi! Remember me?"

Sokka looked up at the girl, and, upon recognizing her, made a considerable effort to scurry away off the ground. But this didn't get him anywhere, and instead of helping Sokka, the image of him flopping around on the ground caused Ty Lee to burst into hysterical laughter.

Of course, this only made Sokka angry, and he jabbed a finger at the girl, who still couldn't contain her laughter.

"HEY! That was mean! What are you doing here, anyway?"

Ty Lee quit laughing long enough to help him up. She offered him her hand.

"I'm sorry. Here."

Sokka looked at the hand, then at the girl. He looked at the hand again, then back at the girl. He crossed his arms and tilted his head away defiantly.

"No."

"Really. I'm sorry for scaring you. Just take it."

Sokka decided that his dignity had already suffered enough, and it wasn't helping to go on sitting on the ground. He reluctantly took her hand, but not before inspecting it for anything that might cause him further pain or embarrassment…

"There you go. That's better."

Now standing, Sokka brushed the dirt off his pants and dusted off his bottom.

Ty Lee observed this with great interest.

Sokka quit primping and glanced warily at the girl.

_Something's fishy…_

He began pacing back and forth, beginning the first step of the detective process: the Interrogation Phase. The crime? Failure to respect boundaries.

He raised an eyebrow inquisitively and leaned forward. "What are you doing out in the woods so early in the morning?"

Ty Lee smirked and put her hand on her hip. "It's ten-fifteen."

"Yeah, well, that's early to me. And don't change the subject!" He stamped his foot for emphasis.

She tilted her head innocently. "I'm just exploring. I had nothing else to keep me busy."

"Oh, is _that so_." Sokka narrowed his eyes in an attempt to be intimidating. "Where are your cohorts? You know, the depressed chick and the one with the blue fire."

"Oh, you mean Mai and Azula. They're nowhere nearby. You don't have to worry about them."

Sokka looked unconvinced. "Awfully vague answer." He leaned in close. "Hiding something, are we?"

Having Sokka's face so close to her own made Ty Lee blush. Realizing this, he stepped back and folded his arms in an I-mean-business kind of way.

"Really. Mai's probably back filing her nails, complaining about how bored she is, and Azula's probably plotting a takeover of some other region of the Earth Kingdom. They don't know I'm gone, and even if they did, they wouldn't particularly care."

"Well. You have a good story, I'll give you that much. _Almost_ believable. But the most important question: Why would you do such a thing to cause an adept warrior such as myself to lose his dignity in a manner most devious as you have just done?

"Isn't that redundant?"

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!" He stuck his finger up informatively. "As a warrior of the Southern Water Tribe, it is my humble duty to represent our tribe and to set an example for others by behaving as a respectful citizen should, which includes at all times maintaining a certain amount of poise and keeping my composure—"

"There's a bug on your forehead."

"WHERE?!? WHERE?!? GET IT OFF!! GET IT OFF ME NOW!!!"

Ty Lee smiled and shook her head as Sokka ran around in circles, screaming and flailing his arms. She stood in his path and tried to intercept him as he went. "Here. Let me get it. Hold still for a second!"

Sokka quit running around long enough for Ty Lee to lean over and flick the bug off his face. It flew a couple of feet in the air, landed noiselessly on the ground, and scurried away on the forest floor.

Ty Lee was about to comment on Sokka's inability to keep his composure despite his proclaimed warrior status, but he wouldn't permit her to make any remarks.

"Don't. Say. Anything."

She couldn't help but giggle. He seemed even more flustered than usual. It was hard _not_ to smile, being around this guy.

It was such a lucky thing running into him like this. She'd really enjoyed messing with him earlier, swinging through the trees. It was so much fun to annoy him. It was really easy, too.

She'd seen him several times in battle before, but had never talked to him like this. He was much cuter up close, when the two weren't automatically enemies. It occurred to her that they had never talked for real, just as normal people. They had never formally introduced themselves.

Well one thing was for sure. That wasn't going to be a problem anymore.

"Hi."

Sokka looked over at her with a sulky look on his face. He seemed to be having an off day. "You've been in my company for the past ten minutes. I don't think the 'hi' is _exactly_ necessary."

"I know. But I said it anyway." She smiled. "My name is Ty Lee."

Sokka wore a quizzical expression and scratched the back of his head. "I think I knew that already."

"Well, I never told you myself. As a matter of fact I don't think we've ever had a real conversation."

"Oh." Sokka began to feel less irritable. He had gotten off to a bad start, but he wasn't about to let that ruin his whole day.

"I'm Sokka."

"Right. I think I already knew that, too."

"Well, I just wanted to extend the courtesy of telling you that myself."

"Thank you. I appreciate it."

Sokka smiled despite himself. There was something here that struck him as different from their last meeting. Of course, there was the fact that they had always been on opposite sides, fighting against each other because they had to. But there was something else. Something here that hadn't existed earlier.

He didn't know exactly what it was. He didn't know exactly why, either.

…Well, he never was a deep thinker, so he wasn't about to figure it out.

But it didn't matter. Not right then, anyway. He was preoccupied with what was going on right here, and right now.

…Which brought him to a new question: _What really IS going on here?_

Sokka snapped back into reality, only to find Ty Lee staring at him and smiling. She immediately looked away and turned a shade of pink.

No other color seemed more appropriate.

"You know, for a soldier of the Fire Nation, you're rather… friendly."

She giggled. "Yeah, well, for a warrior of the Southern Water Tribe, you're rather… gawky."

"Hey!"

Ty Lee smiled. "Well, thank goodness for that insanely hard head of yours. It'll protect against any serious damage… and future chi-blockers."

"Hard head?" Sokka looked thoughtful. You can always tell when Sokka is thinking really hard because he strokes his chin and stares at some distant object.

"…oh YEAH!!" He smiled. "I remember that! Ha ha, good times, good times…"

She smiled and shook her head. "Yeah, we really go way back, don't we?"

"Well, ya know, it was a memorable day. 'Good try, but no'… I gotta start using that one again…"

Ty Lee sighed. She hadn't stopped smiling the whole time she'd been with him. She loved that kind of person: the kind of person who could make her smile constantly.

Better still was the kind of person who could make her smile without actually meaning to.

Sokka was that kind of person.

She had known there was something special about him ever since that first encounter, the chase that led them to the river. Sure, his looks definitely contributed to that notion, but his sense of humor was especially attractive. His was the kind that turned the ordinary and everyday into something hysterical.

Case in point: the day's past events.

Ty Lee looked over at him. He was standing off to the left, digging his toe into the dirt and looking around.

_What exactly is it about him that is so attractive?_

He was so… contradictory. One minute preaching about the importance of keeping one's composure, the next minute running around in circles, slapping himself. The way he would seemingly have everything under control, and then would turn around and be totally caught off guard by some giant crack in the rocks and end up talking for hours to a moose-lion cub.

That was Sokka, sarcastic and inconsistent.

And a lover of meat.

She would've kept on looking at him, admiring his adorable features and quirks, but all of a sudden he seemed to remember something.

"Oh wow, I was supposed to be back at camp with the meal a reeeeeeally long time ago… Rats!… I've got to go."

Ty Lee was disappointed. She was expecting to have a morning especially dedicated to watching Sokka act like an idiot (honestly, there's no better way to spend one's pre-lunch hours).

"Oh. Well, tell everyone I said 'hi', I guess. And that I'll try to go easier on 'em next time."

"Okay." He smiled. A real, genuine smile, Ty Lee noted.

"So I guess. I'll… see you around?"

She nodded. "Right. See you around."

"Okay." He picked up all his loose articles and started to walk away, but thought of something and turned around.

"By the way, sorry for anything that might happen in future battles. I still have a duty to my tribe."

"As do I." She was beaming. "But outside of combat, I have no problem."

He grinned back at her. "Right."

He turned around and walked away, disappearing behind the thick foliage of the forest.

_Yes_, Sokka decided, _there definitely was something different about this encounter. But what? Why?_

Maybe it was because she had been foreign and unfamiliar before.

_He did not like unfamiliar anything…_

But she wasn't anymore.

Yes, he had thought she was strange and odd before, but now she was just… out of the ordinary. Different.

_Sort of like him._

Was different okay?

The answer came from within him. A place where there had been nothing for a long time. A place that had been empty ever since he had left the North Pole.

_Yes_, he suddenly decided.

_Different was good._

* * *

Possible, _possible_ epilogue if enough people want me to. Plus, if I write another chapter my story will appear in the Update list! Yay! 

Anyway, please, PLEASE review if you want more and if you liked it. Nothing pleases me more (and inspires me to keep going) than a well-rounded review. SO GO TO WORK ALREADY!


	2. Epilogue

Read. Enjoy. Review.

* * *

Epilogue

"So you'll never guess who I ran into in the woods today."

Katara, carrying a large jug of water, looked over and raised one eyebrow. "I was wondering why it took you so long back there."

Toph, indifferent to everyone else's personal affairs (as usual), lay across a boulder with a blade of grass between her teeth. "Oh, I'm _sure_ we all want to hear about Sokka's rendezvous in the forest this morning… didja get caught in a crack again and meet up with Foofoocuddlypoops?"

Sokka folded his arms and glared at her. "No. There was no crack. Or meat... sadly."

Katara placed the water jug next to the tent and picked up another bundle of stuff. "Well… who did you meet, then?"

Aang, who was hanging upside-down from one of Appa's horns, glanced at the gang. Eager to know what all the commotion was about, he flopped down and went over.

"Hey guys. What's going on over here?"

Toph's grass blade had apparently lost its flavor. She spit it out and grabbed a new one. "Apparently, Sokka here had some adventures of his own in the forest this morning. We're all _dying_ to hear about it." With that she rolled over.

Katara rolled her eyes and proceeded to clarify. "Sokka met somebody in the woods this morning. According to him, we'll _never guess_ who it was…"

Aang didn't hesitate to take up the challenge.

"Hmmm… was it Zuko?"

"No."

"Suki?"

"No."

"Ummm… Azula?"

"Thank God, no."

"Those nomad people?"

"Again: Thank God, no."

"Lemme think… Jet?"

"Isn't he dead?"

At that moment, Katara butted in (on my behalf… hehe). "NO HE'S NOT!"

Sokka reeled back. "Okay, okay... whatever." Under his breath, he added, "_Denial much_?"

"I head that."

"_Anyway_," Sokka turned back to Aang. "Keep guessing."

"Um… that guy from the swamp."

"No."

"Haru?"

"No."

"Er… Jeong Jeong?"

"You're just trying to think of the most random people as you can, aren't you?"

"Pretty much. Anyway… Mai?"

"Good try, but no." _Ha, he knew he liked that one._

Aang plopped down and pouted. He was usually a very good guesser… perhaps not this time.

Sokka sighed and gave in. "Okay, do you want me to tell you who it is?"

Aang's face instantly lit up. "YES! YES! YES!"

"OKAY, then sit down already!" He did.

"It was…" Aang leaned closer, in suspense, "Ty Lee."

Glancing over, Sokka saw Katara wobble a bit and almost drop the bundle she was carrying. She turned around, more than a hint of surprise and fear in her eyes.

"You mean that acrobatic chi-blocker in the pink?"

"That's the one."

This time, Katara did drop the bundle. But more or less on purpose.

"You met her in the forest? What happened? Did she attack you?"

"Actually… no. We just… talked."

Katara and Aang were as surprised to hear it as Sokka was to say it out loud.

"Er… she says 'hi'. And also that she'll try to be a little nicer in battle. That is, if we ever happen to meet in combat again…"

Both Katara and Aang's faces scrunched up. Hers with suspicion, his with disappointment.

"Aww, that was _it_? No fighting?"

"Where were the others? Are you sure she wasn't just trying to get information out of you?"

Toph piped up and looked over from her perch on the boulder. "Didja embarrass yourself as usual, Snoozles?"

Sokka couldn't possibly answer all the questions at one time, so he did what he was best at:

He yelled. Loudly.

"EVERYBODY _SHUT UP_ and I'll tell you!!"

They all resentfully agreed.

Sokka proceeded to tell the story.

…His way, of course.

--------------

_I can't believe I'm back here again. Why am I back here? Uh oh… is it subconscious? AAH!! MY SUBCONSCIOUS MIND! OUT TO RUIN MY LIFE!! GAH!_

Subconscious, indeed, it was. Or at least, that was the only logical explaination.

It was night now; a peaceful, quiet night that could induce sleep immediately.

But apparently, it hadn't worked on Sokka.

The group had all gone to bed, hours ago, still making fun of Sokka for his goofiness when confronted with a supposed enemy. Within minutes, nothing could be heard in their small camp except for the sounds of their breath, in and out as they slept; and the rustling sounds of the leaves as the breeze blew through the trees.

For a moment Sokka had been convinced the rustling was caused by a certain someone, but as it continued consistently, as only nature could, he relaxed.

But nevertheless, he was unable to fall asleep.

After what seemed like hours of tossing and turning, he had gotten up for a leisurely stroll. He figured that maybe a little exercise would help…

And now he had found himself back in the same spot where he had met Ty Lee, hours earlier.

_I'm not here on purpose_, he told himself. _It's entirely coincidental. Completely UNplanned and unintentional._

Sure it was.

_I never meant to come here._

Sure, he didn't.

…

_Wait a minute…_

…_someone's coming._

The rustling noises behind him told him he was correct. But he didn't move. He was prepared this time.

_Completely UNplanned and unintentional…_

Soft, light footsteps told him she was near.

---

"How did you know I would be here?"

A gentle voice sounded from behind him:

"I didn't."

_Sure, she didn't._

He turned around to face her. The moonlight illuminated her adorable features.

"How did _you_ know _I_ would be here?"

"I didn't."

They smirked at each other. This was too perfect to be a coincidence; they both had known it all along.

She sat down on a large stone, and as there wasn't one for him, he stood across from her.

"Couldn't sleep?"

"Nope. I was too wound up to sleep. And there was also the added possibility of running into you again…"

Sokka smiled and looked away. "It was the same with me."

Ty Lee looked. The full moon shone down on them from her place in the night sky.

"It's a beautiful moon, isn't it?"

Sokka closed his eyes. "It is."

_Wait a minute… that reminds me._

Sokka opened his eyes. "Hey. I wanted to thank you."

She looked up at him, a curious look on her face. "Thank me? For what?"

"For fixing me."

Ty Lee's facial expression informed Sokka that she needed clarification. So he proceeded to do so.

He took a breath, and as he spoke he sat down on the rock next to her. "For a long time, I felt guilty for something that happened at the North Pole. Someone I cared about… I thought I could have saved her. I felt responsible. And I kind of… closed up for a long time."

Ty Lee turned to face him, but he didn't notice; he was looking up at the moon. He sighed, and continued. "But you've made me realize… it was her destiny. I don't have to feel like it was my fault. And more importantly," He turned to look at her, "that it's okay to care about other people, because I can't help that she's gone."

Ty Lee's eyes conveyed a sense of understanding. "I'm sorry…"

He smiled and shook his head. "No, you're supposed to say, 'You're welcome'."

She smirked. "Oops."

All of a sudden, Sokka felt something stirring inside of him. He knew he had felt it before, but he didn't recognize it right away. All he knew was that there was a space between him and Ty Lee, and he didn't want it there anymore.

And neither did she.

Their lips touched, and in that moment they knew they had figured it out. The more they had spoken to each other, the clearer it had become: the pieces fit. _What was different?_

They understood that now.

It was because they knew they didn't have to be enemies if they didn't want to be.

And they didn't want to be.

---

Sokka drew back from her, ever-so-slowly, and they looked into each other's eyes.

_When you mix grey and blue, doesn't it result in an even deeper blue?_

Sokka got up slowly, and so did she. He went around the rock and walked slowly in the direction of his camp, but not before saying goodbye.

"Until we meet again."

She nodded back at him, and turned around. The two went their separate ways.

Well, however surreal the experience seemed, one thing was for sure:

They'd have no trouble sleeping now.

* * *

Are ya happy? I know lots of people wanted an ending. It was rather long, for an epilogue, but I don't think anybody minded the length. 

Hope you liked it. And if you really loved it, tell me! I'd love to hear what you thought.


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